United States Post Office Carrier, Darchelle Turner, getting ready to drive her truck and deliver mail.
We are all guilty of taking things for granted. We expect our mail to show up six days a week. Every week. Whether it’s junk mail or a precious hand-written letter from a loved one, heaven forbid if there’s no mail for a couple of days.
Many of us in Orinda are fortunate to have had the same mail carrier for decades. Darchelle Turner has been working Route 9, on and around Miner Road, for nearly 20 years. She’s been with the Orinda Post Office for 26 years.
Turner enjoys her route and running into residents.
“My job allows me to be outdoors, but the old delivery trucks – with right hand drives – can be a challenge on some of Orinda’s roads,” she said.
Hot days, with no air conditioning in the delivery trucks, can be draining for mail carriers, but Turner often gets solace along her route. “I am delighted when a resident offers me a glass of cold water on a hot day,” she said. “And unlike some other cities, Orinda is a safe city and I am happy to work here.”
She was surprised and touched when the customers on her route offered her hugs and flowers when she lost her husband.
If you’ve been to the Orinda Post Office, you have likely encountered Latonya Henderson.
After 38 years as a clerk, she has seen it all.
“Most of our customers are professionals and we understand it is our job to serve them,” said Henderson. “A few come in upset and it’s usually because something didn’t go right.”
Henderson finds the United States Postal Service (USPS) a good place to work, even though her hours (4 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., six-days-a-week) are long.
“You don’t become rich working for the USPS, but I raised three kids and have a decent life,” she said.
Another carrier, Yvonne Tormey, qualified to join the USPS just after high school, but instead decided to get married and raise a family.
“But just after getting divorced, I received a letter from the USPS, letting me know I was still eligible and I jumped at the opportunity,” she said.
After 20 years, she finds Orinda’s hilly terrain to be demanding on a mail carrier’s body, especially with some of the heavy packages. Hopping in and out of the truck, climbing stairs and wet, slippery and steep driveways – are all potential hazards.
When it first opened in 1888, it was called “The Orinda Park Post Office.” In 1895, “Park” was dropped from the name.
“The mail volume has dramatically decreased since 2006, but it has been replaced by packages,” said Ric Tolero, the Postmaster at the Orinda Post Office. The USPS also delivers over a billion mail-order prescriptions annually.
In the early days of our postal system, the postman had to deliver the letters personally to the receiver. Now the mailboxes are mostly outside and one may never run into the mail carriers. We don’t see them, but we still expect our mail to be there when we open the mailbox.
DeeAnn Jacuzzi, a long-term Orinda resident, had high praise for her mail carrier. “Tormey is above and beyond with everything she does,” she said. “Her commitment to her job and customers is wonderful. We are blessed to have her in Orinda!”
“You can’t make everyone happy,” said Tormey, “but I sure want to try!
